Northwestern, Penn State square off in Big Ten cellar

Field Level Media|published: Wed 28th January, 20:11 2026

Jan 24, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Northwestern Wildcats forward Nick Martinelli (2) is defended by UCLA Bruins forward Tyler Bilodeau (34) as he drives to the basket in the second half at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom Financial. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Northwestern may have found some answers during a West Coast road trip, while Penn State is still looking for anything to fall its way.

The Wildcats and Nittany Lions meet in a battle of Big Ten bottom-feeders Thursday night in Evanston, Ill.

After losing its first seven conference games, Northwestern (9-11, 1-8 Big Ten) got its first win last Wednesday, 74-68, against Southern California. The Wildcats played toe-to-toe with UCLA on Saturday before ultimately falling 71-64.

Northwestern held the Trojans to 38.5% shooting from the field and 15.4% from 3-point range, both bests during conference play for the Wildcats. While the defense loosened up against the Bruins, shooting 17-for-20 from the free-throw line helped Northwestern hang in there.

"We got better this week," coach Chris Collins said. "We were able to come out here and split the two games. We came out here kind of a battered team, a little bit demoralized being 0-7, and I think we regained some spirit on the trip."

Nick Martinelli paces the Wildcats' scoring attack with 23.4 points per game, fourth best in the country, and also leads the team with 6.8 rebounds per game. He makes 48.1% of his 3-pointers and shoots 54.2% from the field.

Penn State (9-11, 0-9) has had it rough since conference play started, dropping 10 of 11 games overall while losing by an average of 14.4 points to Big Ten opponents.

In the Nittany Lions' most recent loss Monday, they fell behind 50-32 at halftime to Ohio State. Penn State made up some ground but still lost 84-78.

The Buckeyes shot 66.7% from the field and 54.5% from 3-point range in the first half.

"We're just not a very good defensive team," coach Mike Rhoades said. "We're getting beat, we're getting beat way too much, and then they get going. And we've really struggled letting good players get going."

Kayden Mingo is the head of the snake for Penn State as he leads the team in points (14.0 per game), assists (4.8) and steals (2.1). Eli Rice (8.3 points per game) has been sporadic at times but led the Nittany Lions with 20 points against Ohio State.

--Field Level Media